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THE 



KELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 



OF 



THE NEGROES, 



A SERMON, 



)ELrV£R£D BEFORE ASSOCIATIONS OF PLANTERS IN LIBERTY AND 
M'iNTOSH counties, GEORGIA, 

By the Rev. CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, 
of Savannah. 



TOVRTH EDITION. 



PRINCETON, J?, J. 

PRINTED BY d'hART & CONNOLLY. 

1833. 



"•, w 



■ri5 



N 

ci 

^i> This excellent Address was twice delivered, as 
^' will be seen bv Mr. Jones' notice, before Associations 
of Southern Planters, and committed for publication 
at their request. A fourth p.dition is now issued 
gratuitously, for the purpose of extending its circu- 
lation, and of bringing before the community, in an 
unexceptionable form, a safe, practicable and efficient 
plan for promoting the Religious Instruction of their 
Negroes. The subject recommends itself at once, 
not only to the Christian, but to every one who 
believes that the success of the Gospel is identified 
with the good morals and temporal prosperity of the 
community. 

Every Planter, who may receive a copy of this 
Address, is earnestly requested to give it a perusal. 
It was written hy a Southern gentleman, who hopes 
to spend his life among Southern Planters in carrying 
into execution, as far as may be, the plan proposed. 
Several Counties, in Georgia, have already adopted 
it, vviih success. Why may it not be adopted in 
Virginia, North Carolina, and other States? Every 
thinsr connected with the subject depends, of course, 
entirely upon the wishes of the Planters themselves. 
It is very desirable, therefore, that they should give 
it a fair examination. 



o 



The following Address has been delivered, within a fern 
weeks, before two /Societies fortned for the Religious 
Instruction of the Negroes — one in Mcintosh, and the 
other in Liberty County — and by both Societies it was 
requested for publication. It is my earnest desire that it 
may awaken the attention of the public to a subject, long 
neglected, but of vital importance to us, as citizens of the 
South, whether we consider it in a civil or in a moral point 
of view. The Address appears as it was delivered, and 
refers exclusively to plantation Negroes. 

CHARLES C. JONES* 

Savannah, Georgia^ May SOth, 1831. 



CJ'C. 



"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and 
preach the Gospel to every creaturcP — Mark 16 : 15. 

Men and Brethren: 

The Lord Jesus Christ was standing on the Mount 
of Olives surrounded by his deciples. Beneath them 
lay Jerusalem with its walls, and palaces, and towers, 
and holy temple, lighted up by the risen sun; and 
around, as far as the eye could reach, the cities of 
Palestine, peering above the foliage of the forests, or 
standing exposed on the plains; the hills and vallies 
covered with fields of grain, and vineyards and habi- 
tations of men. The work which his Father had 
given him to do was now finished. He was about to 
ascend to the right hand of God. The bright cloud 
which was to receive him out of their sight, was fast 
floating along in the clear blue sky, to overshadow the 
place where he stood. And what now should be his 
last commands to his disciples'? He seemed with them 
from the Mount, to survey the world. He had taught 
them that He was the Redeemer of the world. He 
had taught them that the field in which this truth should 
be sown was the world. Then directing their eyes 



Abroad on the scene before them, and spreading fort^J 
his hands over it, he cries out : Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature. To procure the 
power and privilege of giving this command, Christ died 
and rose again. 

The disciples were the representatives of his church 
on earth. The command is to his church, and is of 
perpetual obligation. It is obligatory not only upon 
ministers of the church, to whom the office of preaching 
the Gospel is specially committed; but also upon all 
members of the church, to whom God has given the 
ability to support the preaching of the Gospel, or talents 
that qualify them to become teachers of the unlearned. 
The command implies that all men in the world, no 
matter of what nation or complexion or condition, are 
the moral and accountable creatures of God. That 
they are lost, and need the Gospel of Salvation. When- 
ever, therefore, any people come within the range of 
our influence, we, who are acting under this command, 
have two questions, and but tvvo to settle. Do they 
need the Gospel? and, Has God put it in our power to 
give them, the Gospel? The Negroes of our country 
come fairly within the range of our influence. We 
believe that they are men — the creatures of God, and 
like ourselves are moving onward to the retributions of 
eternity ; and as philanthropists and Christians, we are 
bound to propose to ourselves and to answer these 
questions in regard to them. 

I. Do they need the Gospel? 

We can return but one answer to this question, and 
it is an affirmative one. The description which the 
Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, gives of the 
Heathen world, will apply, with very little abatement, to 
our Negroes. They lie, steal, blaspheme ; are slothful, 
envious, malicious, inventors of evil things, deceivers* 



covenant breakers, implacable, unmerciful. They are 
greatly wanting in natural affection, improvident, with- 
out understanding and gro&ely immoral. Chastity is an 
exceeding rare virtue. Polygamy is common, and there j 
is little sacredness attached to the marriage contract. 
It is entered into for the most part without established 
forms, and is dissolved at the will of the parties. Nor 
is there any sacredness attached to the Sabbath. It is 
a day of idleness and sleep, of sinful amusements, of 
visiting, or of labor. They are generally temperate 
through necessity; when ardent spirit can be obtained, 
they will freely drink it. Numbers of them do not go to 
church, and cannot tell us who Jesus Christ is, nor have 
they ever heard so much as the Ten Commandments 
read and explained. Of the professors of religion among 
them, there are many of questionable piety who occa- 
sion the different churches great trouble in discipline, 
for they are extremely ignorant, and frequently are 
guilty of the grossest vices. We cannot go more fully 
Into the moral condition of these people at present. 
Indeed, it is unnecessary. Generally speaking, they 
appear to us to be without Hope and without God in the 
world. A nation of Heathen in our very midst. And if 
we will believe the testimony of our own eyes and ears, 
and the testimony of those who know these people most 
Intimately, we must conclude that they need the Gospel, 
and need it as much as any people in the world do.* 

II. Has God put it itiio our poiver to give them the 
Gospel? 

We think that he has. The civil law does not forbid 
(■js to give them the Gospel orally. We can therefore 
employ or permit men to visit our plantations for the 
purpose of instructing them; or we can undertake to 

'*' Se« note A. 



instruct them ourselves. And having our plantations, 
the time and persons of our servants wholly under our 
control, we can arrange the manner and frequency of 
our instructions, as we please, and the period of these 
instructions with as much punctuality, and witli as little 
interruption, as we can arrange the morning and eve- 
ning devotions of our own fire-side. Our very children 
might become, to some extent, teachers, by reading to 
them plain portions of the Bible, or plain Tracts and 
things of such sort. And who can condemn us for 
doing what we conceive to be duty ? Or who can hin- 
der us? We infringe no law, neither do we violate any 
man's property or liberty. These two questions, then, 
being answered in the affirmative, it follows that we are 
in duty bound to give our Negroes the Gospel. 

We are bound to give them the Gospel — hy Hnma- 
nity. Were we to see a sheep fallen into a ditch, we 
would lift it out. Were our ox famishing in the stall, 
we would loose it and lead it away to watering. Much 
more, then, should we lift up our servants from the pit 
of moral pollution and death, into which they have 
fallen. Much more should we strive to loose them 
from the bonds of sin and Satan, and lead away their 
famishing souls to the water of life. How much better 
is a man than a sheep or an ox? When their bodies are 
diseased we physic and nurse them. And how can we 
neglect their diseased soul? Are not their souls more 
precious than their bodies? 

We are bound to give them the Gospel — hy Consis- 
tency. We are actually contributing of our substance — 
or giving our prayers and best wishes to the various 
benevolent operations of the present day. We pray 
that Christ's Kingdom may come, and that his Gospel 
may be preached to every nation and people under the 
whole heaven. In consistency with this prayer we 



have assisted in sending missionaries to the Heathen, 
thousands of miles from us, and to destitute settlements 
in our country. We have assisted in printing Bibles and 
Tracts, and in sending them into every family in our 
land and in foreign lands. We have assisted in preach- 
ing the Gospel in our pubhc prisons — in the harbors of 
our sea-port cities, to those who do business on the great 
waters. We have assisted in gathering the children of 
all parents into Sabbath Schools; and we have assisted 
in staying the swellings of the fiery waves of intempe- 
rance. But what have we done for our poor Negroes'? 
With shame must we confess that we have done nothing! 
An enemy, nay, a friend, might well say to us, how can 
you contribute to all these benevolent works and pray 
for their success ? How can you pray for Christ's King- 
dom to come; how can you pray that God would enable 
you to do something to hasten its coming, while you 
are neglecting a people perishing for lack of vision 
around your very doors'? And what answer could we 
return in justification of our conduct? None. We could 
do no more than honestly confess our inconsistency. 

We cannot cry out against the Papists for withholding 
the Scriptures from the common people, and keeping 
them in ignorance of the way of life, for we withhold 
the Bible from our Servants, and keep them in ignorance 
of it, while we will not use the means to have it read 
and explained to them. We have been shocked at the , 
death of forty thousand men annually, by intemperance, j;^ 
and our community has been thrown into commotion by ) 
it. But it is probable that as many die annually among ) 
the Negroes in slave-holding States, whose ^eath is ) 
equally as hopeless as that of the drunkard, and yet we \ 
have not thought of this, neither have we felt it. We 
have been horror-struck at the cruelties of the Heathen, 
who cast their aged and infirm, and their tender infants 






10 

into the rivers to be devoured by crockodiles. But we 
have manifested no emotions of horror at abandoning- 
the souls of our Servants to the adversary, the roaring 
Hon that walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 
Our inconsistency in withholding the Gospel from ourj 
Servants, both as Philanthropists and Christians, is most 
glaring, nor can we deny it. 

We are bound to give them the Gospel — hy the spirit 
of the Religion which we possess. Religion is compre- 
hended in one word — Love. Love to God, and love to 
man. This love, as manifested to man, consists in a 
tender regard for his interests and an earnest desire for 
his happiness, not so much, however, in reference to 
this world as to that to come. Hence it is that the 
Christian feels such an interest in the conversion and 
salvation of men, that he is willing to make any sacrifice 
to obtain this object. Indeed, the very design of God 
in converting men is to promote his glory, by using 
them as instruments in the conversion of others. It is 
therefore an indication of radical defect of Christian 
character; or most lamentable, may we not say criminal 
ignorance of duty, when the Christian is insensible to 
the condition of those who are perishing around him, 
and makes no effort for their salvation. The desire of 
the Christian to give men the Gospel, should be in pro- 
portion to the difficulty to be surmounted, and the need 
in which they stand of it. 

The great, the golden rule of conduct, which Christ 
prescribes to his followers, is this: '■'■All things whatso- 
ever ye iconld tnen icoidd do unto yoif, do ye even so to 
them.'''' Admitting, then, that we were in the condition 
of the Negro, and he in our condition, able to read and 
appreciate the Gospel ; experimentally acquainted with 
it; a partaker of its privileges and of its eternal hopes; 
would we not think it his duty to make known to us the 



II 

Gospel, which is every thing to perishing sinners, and 
which alone could yield us happiness in our humble lot"? 
We surely should. And what would we think of him if 
he denied it to us ] Could we believe that he possessed 
the spirit of his religion ] Could we believe that he 
sincerely beheved and felt all the amazing and soul 
stirring truths which it contains ; No — we could not. 
Shall we not, then, by passing over the spiritual wants 
of our Servants, be deficient in the very spirit of our 
religion? We feel that we shall; and we tremble to 
think that should we continue to neglect them, our 
neglect might not only shut their souls out of heaven, 
but our own. 

And once more — we are bound to give them the 
Gospel — by the exj^ress command of God. We are com- 
manded by Christ to go into all the world and preach 
the Gospel to every creature, as we have seen. But 
more particularly is it said to us, as owners of slaves, 
" Masters give unto your Servants that which is just and j 
equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven." / 
Col. iv. 1. — i e. Treat your Servants wiih justice and in ) 
an equitable manner, for you have a Master in heaven f 
to whom you are accountable for your treatment of \ 
them. Now, we cannot come up to the spirit and let- 
ter of these commands, unless we give them the 
Gospel. 

Yes, our Servants are men — They need the Gospel. < 
God has put it into our povver to give them the Gospel . / 
and we are bound to do it, by Humanity — by Consis-f 
tency — by the Spirit of the Religion ice profess — and by/ 
the Express cominand of God. This obligation has beenl 
resting upon us for years. May we not say that its age \ 
gives it weight? Yea, an awful weight! Wc have here- \ 
tofore neglected our duty. If we continue to neglect it, 
we shall be as heretofore, withmit excuse. 



12 

( We cannot excuse ourselves, by saying — that the 

\ Negroes have the Gospel already. Their opportunities 

' of hearing the Gospel are limited. For although, gene- 

/rally speaking, all are permitted to go to church on 

/ Sabbath, yet ojdy a part on the plantations can go on 

each Sabbath, as it is not permitted, nor can we say that 

it is desirable, that all should leave the plantations at a 

time./ And even of this minority, (and an exceeding 

small minority it is, when we reckon children and youth,) 

only a part attend church. So that the majority do not 

hear the Gospel for weeks and months together. And, 

as it is among the whites, so it is among them, many 

never go to church at all. 

But whenever the Negroes hear the preaching of the 
f Gospel, they hear it at a very great disadvantage. The 
\ sermons are almost wholly delivered to their masters, 
\ and are not only, for the greater part, inapplicable to 
/ them, but entirely above their comprehension, both as 
I to language and thought. The Gospel is preached to 
f them in an unknown tongue. Occasionally they are 
/ particularly addressed, while worshipping with their 
masters; and perhaps as often, a regular discourse is 
delivered at their place of meeting.* We have colored 
Ministers and exhorters, but their numbers are wholly 
inadequate to the supply of the Negroes; and while 
their ministrations are unfrequent, and conducted in 
great weakness, there are some of them whose moral 
character is justly suspected, and who may be con- 
sidered blind leaders of the blind. t 

Nor have the Negroes, at any other time than the 

i Sabbath, any system of stated religious instruction, if 
we except a few plantations on which they are gathered 
together and instructed in the evenings. So that on the 

* See note B. f See note C. 



13 

whole, considering the fewness of tiie numbers that 
attend church, the disadvantage under which they hear 
the Gospel, and the little attention which is paid to their 
private instructions on the plantations, we must say to 
our condemnation, that our Servants do not enjoy the 
privileges of the Gospel. Hence their ignorance of 
the nature of true religion, and of its fundamental 
doctrines. 

Nor can we excuse ourselves by saying — that they 
are incapable of receiving Religions Instruction. It is 
customary amongst us to entertain very low opinions 
of the intellectual capacity of the Negroes. Whether 
this be right or wrong, we leave every man to judge 
for himself, and to judge likewise whether their mental 
weakness is to be attributed to the circumstances of 
their condition, or to any difference as made by the 
Author of their existence between them and other men. 
But to suppose them too ignorant to comprehend the 
plainer and more essential doctrines of Christianity, is 
certainly to disregard the testimony of. God's word, as 
well as the testimony of facts. 

It is said that "God is no respecter of persons; but, 
in every nation, he that feareth Him and worketh right- 
eousness is accepted with Him." And again, that " He 
hath made of one blood all nations of men that dwell 
on all the face of tl'.e earth." (Acts, 10, 34—35, 17, 
25 — 26.) What then can be plainer than that all men 
have one common origin, and that all are capable of 
exercising proper affections towards God; and this 
necessarily implies a capahility of understanding the 
Divine Law, no matter under what dispensation of law 
they live, whether natural or revealed. If it be allowed 
that the Negroes are men, then these things are true in 
regard to them, and thus by the word of God does it 
appear that they are capable of understanding the 



14 

Gospel. And this is further evident from fact: Are 
there not colored communicants in our churches who 
understand, and in their lives adorn, the doctrine of 
Jesus Christ ] We must believe that their general 
ignorance on Divine subjects is wholly owing to their 
want of proper instruction, and not at all to any natural 
defect of mental constitution. 

Nor can we excuse ourselves — because the Gospel 
meets with so little success amongst them. The great 
wonder with us should be, not that the Gospel meets 
with so little success, but that it meets with any success 
\ at all: for we have seen that it is not preached to them 
I in its fullness and connexion — nor is it preached to them 
generally, nor intelligibly. And we have also seen that 
the Negroes are extremely ignorant and vicious; and, 
. like other men, they naturally hate the light. It should, 
^ therefore, be very far from a matter of discouragement 
■ to us, that the Gospel, as they have heretofore been 
accustomed to receive it, has met with so Httle success. 
On the contrary, it should be a matter of encourage- 
ment. For if it has met with any success at all, under 
a feeble and inadequate dispensation of it, what success 
may we not hope for under a more energetic and ade- 
quate dispensation of it? 

The world and the glory of it, are outweighed in 
value by the soul. If, therefore, only one soul is saved 
from amongst them, the Gospel meets with great suc- 
cess ; and were it now revealed to us, that the most 
extensive system of instruction we could devise, requi- 
ring a vast amount of labor and protracted through 
ages, woul I result in the salvation of the soul of only 
one poor African^ we should feel ourselves warranted in 
cheerfully entering upon the work, for our reward would 
exceed our toil and care above the computation of any 
finite mind. But further, if the Gospel meet with no 



15 

success at all, it would be no reason why we should not 
undertake the religious instruction of the Negroes; for 
if we certainly determine that it is our duty to give them 
instruction, we should do it. The success of that instruc- 
tion belongs to God. This is the view which every 
Christian should take of the subject. God has evidently 
been speaking to us in favor of our Servants. He has 
called many of them into his kingdom, and made them 
rich in faith, as we do know. We have not, as yet, 
listened to his voice. It is time that we should. He 
tells us that he is willing to bless the preaching of the 
Gospel to their salvation. Shall we neglect them? 
Shall we despise God's voice? 

Nor can we render as an excuse for not giving reli- 
gious instruction to our servants — that there are before 
us, peculiar and great difficulties hard to be overcome. 
For in every enterprise of benevolence, there are diffi- 
culties; and if we wait, in our efforis to do good, until 
all difficulties are removed, we shall never commence. 
Times have suddenly and strangely altered in this world, 
if Christians can do good without encountering much 
that will try the purity and the firmness of their purposes. 
Against new enterprises, there are always men in readi- 
ness to magnify difficulties and to multiply objections. 
But when we enter upon them, and have a mind to the 
work, and the work be of God, difficulties and objections 
gradually vanish away. One thing is certain: — what- 
ever difficulties now exist with regard to the religious 
instruction of our Servants, will continue to exist; for 
there are no causes now in operation adequate to their 
removal, nor is there the slightest possibily that there 
will be any. It is, therefore, the dictate of wisdom to- 
commence our work at once. And again, if we are 
called of God to this work, we must, in the best way we 
can, attempt it, leaving it to Him to remove all obstacles- 



WTP' 



16 

to our progress in it. And it will be a proof of the ardor 
of our feelings and of our sincerity in the work, if we 
can cheerfully and manfully grapple with difficulty. 

No, we have no excuse for our neglect of our Ser- 
vants. Before God we must plead guilty, both we and 
our fathers, and render thanks unto God that his mercy 
and forbearance have preserved us from merited pun- 
ishment. From the first introduction of these people 
into our country, they have been neglected. They 
have lived and died without the consolations of religion. 
They have worn out their lives to furnish us with the 
necessaries and luxuries of life. They have supported us 
in ease and fulness ; and yet after they have thus com- 
municated to us of temporal things, we have ungrate- 
fully failed to make them partakers of our spiritual 
things. Are they debtors to us? or are we debtors to 
themi Let the conscience of every man answer. 

The religious instruction of the Negroes properly 
devolves on us, their legal owners; for they are wholly 
at our disposal. None are better acquainted with our 
laws, our local prejudices, the condition and character 
of the Negroes, than we ; and consequently none are 
better able to devise and carry into effect unexception- 
able systems of instruction. 

Now, there are a number of our fellow-citizens, who 
feel deeply for the spiritual welfare of their Servants, 
but have been greatly at a loss to know ivhat to do. ' No 
system of instruction has been proposed for their adop- 
tion, and they have felt a delicacy in coming before the 
public with any thing of their own. But it is time to 
adopt some plan of instruction. Our duty is plain, our 
Servants must have the Gospel. On this point there 
can be but one opinion. 

But luhat shall our jAan of instruction he? 

Before we proceed to answer this question, we should 



17 

take into consideration the character of the people, and 
the sort of instruction which they need. They are an 
ignorant and wicked people, from the oldest to the 
youngest. Hence, instruction should be committed to 
them oil, and communicated intelligibly. And that it 
may be impressed upon their memories, and good order 
promoted amongst them, it should be communicated 
frequently and at stated intervals of time. 

We would wish then to communicate religious in- 
struction to allom servants, intelligibly. , frequently ^d^n^ 
statedly. 

What plan is there then that will secure all these ne- 
cessary ends'? 

1. Shall we employ Missionaries to devote their whole 
time to the Negroes 7 While we allow that the em- 
ployment of Missionaries for this purpose would be 
attended with very great advantages, and where it can 
be done, it ought to be done ; yet, there are objections 
to this plan, as falling short of the attainment of the 
ends which we have in view. 

The first is, we could not procure Missionaries. It 
must be remembered that we want Southern Men. 
Can our churches furnish themi Where are they? 
Again, if we could procure Missionaries, the question 
of their support must be decided. Will our churches, 
or will communities pledge themselves for the neces- 
sary funds "? 

And again, suppose the Missionaries and funds for 
their support obtained, they would, in a majority of 
cases, be set over extensive territories, and would be 
compelled to visit the plantations in rotation, so that 
several weeks would intervene before these visits could 
be repeated. Their labor would necessarily be stinted. 
And remembering that the Negroes for the most part 
must be instructed at night, we may ask, where arc 



m- 



18 

the men of such iron constitution as would live in such 
service in the low country 1 The difficulty on the score 
of health would not exist in the up-country. 

2. tShall we establish stations contiguous to a number 
of 'plantations, and give instruction on the Sabbath 7 
We admit that this is an excellent plan as far as it goes. 
But it does not meet the wants of the Negroes. There 
is a radical defect in it. Only a part of every plantation 
is allowed to be- away at any one time, and admitting 
that this part attended at the stations for instruction on 
the Sabbath, a very small part only of the whole popu- 
lation would enjoy the privileges of the Gospel. But 
of those who are permitted to leave the plantations on 
the Sabbath, all would not attend at the stations for in- 
struction, and thus this very small part would be made- 
much smaller. 

3. The most efficient plan — the plan which seems to 
secure all the important ends which we desire, in con- 
veying the Gospel to the Negroes, is that which your 
Society has adopted, and which is followed by the so- 
ciety in Liberty and by the citizens of Bryan county. 
It is a plan that embraces the two already mentioned 
and much more in addition : and for the information of 
those who are nat acquainted with it, let us briefly state 
it. The plan is this. The Planters form themselves 

rinto a voluntary association, and take the religious in- 

1 struction of the colored population into their own hands. 

1 And in this way : — As many of the association as feel 

) themselves called to the work, shall become teachers. 

An Executive Committee is to regulate the operation* 

of the Society, to establish regular stations, both for 

instruction during the week and on the Sabbath, and 

\ to appoint teachers who shall punctually attend to 

I their respective charges, and communicate instruc- 

' tion altogether orally^ and in as systematic and intelH- 



19 

gible a manner as possible, embracing all the principles )> 
of the Christian religion as understood by orthodox { 
Protestants, and carefully avoiding all points of doctrine ) 
that separate different religious denominations. 

The teachers are not to be sent to any plantation 
without the cordial consent of the owner Nor shall 
they attend at any other time than that specified by 
him. His wishes and arrangements are to be consulted 
and complied with. They are to confine themselves to r 
the religious instruction of the Negroes wholly ; nor \ 
are they to intermeddle with the concerns of the plan- 
tation in any manner, nor repeat abroad what their 
ears hear, or their eyes see on them. They are also ' 
to make Reports of their labors to the Executive Com- 
mittee, which Committee shall make a general report 
to the Society at some specified time. In addition to 
the instructions of the teachers, where it is practicable, 
a Missionary may be employed to take a general su- 
pervision of the whole, occupy Sabbath stations, preach 
also during the week on plantations, and assist in fra- 
ming courses of instruction, etc. 

The only difficulty in the execution of this plan, is 
the procurement of a sufficient number of efficient 
teachers. In certain sections of our country, no teach- 
ers can be found ; the white population is so sparse and 
80 few of them, if any, are pious. In these sections, 
recourse must be had to one or the otlier of the two 
plans first mentioned. 

Such is the plan which you have adopted. It has 
thus far answered your expectations. — But we will not 
contend for its perfection ; we will hold ourselves in 
readiness to receive light from any quarter ; it may 
have its faults. Indeed there have been several objec- 
tions urged against this plan, which as they may lodge 
in the minds of some to whom the plan is new, it may 
not be improper io consider. 



20 

1. The plan may succeed in a small neighhorhoodj 
hut not in a large one. The success of the plan in any 
neighborhood depends upon the number of efficient 
teachers; only secure a sufficient number of teachers, 
and the neighborhood may be increased to any size. 
And admitting that there are not a sufficient number of 
teachers in a neighborhood, yet much good may be 
done by a few. If we can cuhivate only a part of our 
field, let us do it. It is better to cuhivate a part, than 
let the whole run to waste. Let us not despise the day 
of small things. Let us trust in God, who may at some 
future time enable us to cultivate the whole. 
X^ 2. This plan of instruction ivill he the means of intro- 
ducing amongst us men and principles, hostile to our 
present system of things, and will lead us into trouble. 
But in what way 1 Is not the plan our own. Do we 
not carry it into effect ourselves ? Are we not inte- 
rested persons 1 Will we commission men to go on 
our plantations to sow discontent and revolt ! Are not 
the Executive Committee charged with the oversight of 
the teachers? Have they not power to check or de- 
pose from office those who give improper instruction ? 
Our society professes to have nothing to do with the 
civil instruction of the Negroes^, nor do we desire it. 
We are concerned with them only as moral and ac- 
countable beings. Such a thing as stated in the ob- 
jection cannot take place, unless we ourselves bring it 
to pass. It is presumed no one will suspect us of it. 
Every intelligent man ought to know that there is no 
more effectual method to prevent what is suggested by 
the objector, than to instruct our Servants in the prin- 
ciples of Christianity, to be present ourselves in all 
their assemblies for religious purposes, and to know 
who are their teachers. Our plan carries our security 
in it. 
J S. This plan interferes with the Planters arrange- 



21 

ments, and will probably expose him to the slanders of 
the Teachers. The plan cannot interfere with the 
Planter's arrangements. If he pleases to permit teach- 
ers to come on his place, they will come at whatever 
time he shall appoint, and continue the meetings no 
longer than may be agreeable to him. The Planter is 
to please himself. He is not to conform to the arrange- 
ments of the Society, but the Society is to conform to 
his ; for the Society very well knows that it has no more 
right to interfere in his plantation arrangements, than 
they have to interfere in those of his family. That 
the Planter will suffer from the slanderous reports of 
the teachers, we hope may never be the fact. When 
the teacher comes on a plantation, he comes as it were 
into a private family. It would almost be unpardonable 
in a man to come with professions of friendship to do us 
the kindness and service of religiously instructing our 
Servants, and then discovering something which he 
may deem improper in our treatment of our Servants 
or in their conduct towards us, to go away and make it 
a matter of public notoriety. He betrays the confidence 
reposed in him. He is unfaithful to his trust. We hope 
the Society may never hold in its bosom such a man. 
We hope it may never shake the hand of fellowship 
with him. In order to avoid every thing of this n'""^ 
it should be the duty of the Executive Commit 
appoint as teachers men of judgment and disc 
and to inculcate in their private conference with > 

the Christian duty of abstaining from any co^ 
whatever, upon what they see or hear while e; 
in the discharge of their important duties. 

4. This plan will take vp much of the Teacher , 

and subject him to great inconvenie?ice. Whf t 

and good work is there that requires no sac f 

time and convenience'? And is the sacrifice e 



22 

and convenience in the present work so great as to 
deter us from it? Let us see if it is. 

As to time^ the teacher will devote perhaps, at most, 
but one evening to the instruction of the Negroes, and 
surely he can so arrange his business as not to suffer 
other engagements to interfere with this. And now 
what is it for us to devote one evening in the week to 
our Servants when their whole time is devoted to us 1 
Especially too, when we seek to promote the salvation 
of their immortal souls? It is a shame for any man to 
talk of the sacrifice of time. 

As to inconvenience, the teacher will not ride at the 
extent, more than a few miles. He may sometimes 
have his zeal and resolution tested by a dark or rainy 
evening. But what is the inconvenience of a short 
ride, and sometimes on a stormy night, for the benefit 
of those who are employed in labor for us, through all 
the changes of weather during the year : and who have 
no other time in the week to attend religious meetings? 
It is a shame for any man to talk of the sacrifice of 
convenience. 

The trouble of preparation for his meetings should be 
something to the teacher. He is engaged in most im- 
portant and momentous labors ; they reach into eter- 
nity, and he should discharge them to the best of his 
abilities. He should bring forth out of his treasures 
things new and old, so as always to interest and instruct 
his charge. But considering how many excellent helps 
we now have in interpreting and illustrating Scripture 
he may make his trouble comparatively light. And 
what is the trouble of preparation to a man who feels 
the value of the soul — to a man engaged in the work 
of converting men unto God? The trouble is not then 
thought of. Do then, teachers who are interested in 
their work, complain of the trouble of preparation ? No. 



23 '^ 

They know by experience that the Scripture is true 
which saith, He that water ethy shall himself he watered. 
They are watered in having their skirts clear of the 
blood of souls ; in obtaining a more intimate acquaint-^ 
ance with the word of God ; and in enjoying the happi- 
ness consequent upon sincere labors in the cause of 
Christ. We feel that if we can see our Servants at- 
tentive to our instructions, improving in morality — 
above all, heartily embracing religion, we shall feel 
amply compensated for any sacrifice of time and con- 
venience to which we shall be subjected. And by the 
blessing of God, may we not hope for this? 
vJ 5. This plan of instructing the Negroes will do no 
good; it will only make them toorse hypocrites and 
worse men. It has been tried before. We confess that 
we are unable to feel the force of this objection. Our 
object will be to teach as God shall enable us, the Gos~ 
pel to the Negroes. Will any man say that the tendency 
of the Gospel is to make men worse than they are 1 If 
any man says this, we earnestly hope that he will put 
himself to the trouble of examining the Gospel itself, 
and its legitimate effects upon mankind. We think that 
he will be convinced of his error. Wherever the Gos~- 
pel is statedly and faithfully preached, the result is 
favorable to the piety and morality of the people. We 
can see no reason whatever, why it should produce an 
effect on our Nogroes, contrary to that which it is de- 
signed by infinite wisdom and benevolence to produce^ 
and which it actually produces on all other men, and on 
some whose condition is worse than that of- our Ne- 
groes. And from what people did we, with all our piety 
and morality, and knowledge, spring 1 From a people 
once as degraded as Negroes. And what has lifted us 
so far above our progenitors 1 The Gospel, and nothing 
else. Is there not then a redeeming power in the Gos^ 



24 

pel for the Africans ? We firmly believe that there is^ 
Without this belief, we would not make an effort to 
give it to them. The unintelligible or corrupt preach- 
ing of the Gospel may make men worse, but never 
the preaching of the pure Gospel. 

We are quite sure that no plan of instruction like the 
present, has ever been in operation in this country. 
The efforts heretofore made, have been quite partial 
and for the most part irregular. And it would not be 
proper for us, considering God's general course in 
providence and in grace, to expect much decided good 
from such efforts. And even admitting that the Ne- 
groes have hardened themselves, and grown worse 
under former advantages, this should not discourage 
us from attempting something more in their behalf. 
It should operate as an additional and a very powerful 
reason why we should attempt something more in their 
behalf But may we not go further? Admitting we 
were assured before hand, that our labors would be 
contemned, and result only in great indifference to 
religion and in increased hardness of heart, even this 
assurance ought not to deter us from duty. God, 
sometimes in the accomplishment of his purposes, and 
of his great mercy, commands advantages to be multi. 
plied to those who will certainly abuse them. The 
Jews, in the days of Christ, were a remarkable instance 
of this. (Matt. 23: 33, 39.) 

But it may be questioned if this objection is supported 
by a sohtary fact. On the contrary, we believe, that 
in the judgment of sober, unprejudiced men, whenever 
the Negroes have etijoyed for any reasonable time the 
privileges of the Gospel, they will, in point of order and 
morality, be found in advance of those who have not 
enjoyed them. 

These are some of the objections which have been 



25 

urged against our plan of conveying religious instruc- 
tion to our Servants, and after duly considering them, 
we do not think that they are of sufficient weight to 
deter us from our purpose. It is a matter of astonish- 
ment, that there should be any objection at all; for the 
duty of giving religious instruction to our Negroes, and 
the benefits flowing from it, should be obvious to all. 
The benefits, we conceive to be incalculably great, and 
(^some of them are the following : 

^ 1. There will he a better understayid'mg of the mutual 
relations of Master and Servant. We doubt not that 
there are many of our fellow citizens, and we would 
implicate ourselves in the charge, who have never 
given themselves the trouble to inquire into the num- 
ber and nature of those duties which they owe to their 
Servants, and are in reason and in conscience, bound 
to perform. Nor do we think that our Servants gener- 
ally, understand their duties towards us, and from what 
motives they should be performed. In many instances, 
they learn them after failure to perform them, through 
punishment, which might have been saved by a little 
^;imely instruction. And although the relative duties 
of Master and Servant are so important, and are so 
often insisted upon and defined in the Scriptures, we do 
not recollect ever to have heard a sermon from the 
pulpit concerning them. 

2. There will he greater subordination, and a decrease 
'of crime amongst the Negroes. It is well known that 
Slavery existed in the Roman Empire during the life 
of Christ/ and his Apostles, and that many Slaves be- 
came converts during their preaching. It appears that 
they did not interfere at all with the civil condition of 
the Slaves, nor pass any opinion concerning it, but 
preached to them the plain Gospel which is limited to 
every class and condition of men, and inculcated the 



>V 



26 

duty of obedience in a very high degree. The follow- 
ing passages will suffice as a specimen: "Servants be 
obedient to your masters according to the flesh, not 
with eye-service as men pleasers, but as the Servants 
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." "Ser- 
vants obey in all things your Masters according to the 
flesh, and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the 
Lord, and not unto men." " Let as many Servants as 
are under the yoke count their Masters worthy of all 
honor, &c." And the Apostle Paul commands Minis- 
ters to " Exhort Servants to be obedient unto their own 
Masters and to please them well in all things, &c. 
(Eph. 6: 5, 6; Col. 3: 22; 1 Tim. 6: 1; Titus 2: 9,) 
and other passages of like import which any one may 
see for himself by consulting the New Testament; 
particularly the Epistle to Philemon, where it appears 
that the Apostle Paul sends back Onesimus, a runaway 
slave to his Master. 

It will be noticed that obedience is inculcated as a 
Christian duty, binding on the Servants, and thus the 
authority of Masters is supported by considerations 
drawn from eternity. Now it would be a prime object 
with the Teachers to tread in the footsteps of the 
Apostles. Will the authority of the Masters be wea- 
kened by instructions of this sort "? No, it will be 
strengthened. And we believe that their authority 
can be strengthened and supported in this way only ; 
for the duty of obedience will never be felt and per- 
formed to the extent that we desire it, unless we can 
bottom it on religious principle. 

Our Patrol Laws are not efficiently executed now, 
and this proposed plan of operation will, to some extent, 
supply their place. For the simple presence of a white 
man at stated times amongst the Negroes, will tend 
greatly to the promotion of good order. 



It has been said, that religious instruction tends to 
create insubordination, and that religious meetings of 
the Negroes are nurseries for every sort of irregularity, 
and we have been pointed for an example to the affair 
in Charleston of 1822. But the example adduced, re- 
futes the very point it was intended to prove. Those 
meetings which were held in Charleston for the pur- 
pose of exciting the colored population, were not reli- 
gious meetings. They were meetings held under color 
of religion ; but religion, properly speaking, had nothing 
to do with them ; nor had the Negroes composing them 
any connexion with any vv^hite church or congregation.* 

Supposing that it was religion itself that excited those 
people 1 (which we deny with all our might,) men are 
religious beings. They will meet for religious purposes 
again. And in what way shall we prevent the recur- 
rence of the same consequences'? Only by being 
present in their meetings ourselves. If our plan of 
sending a white instructor into every assembly of Ne- 
groes for religious purposes, had been in operation in 
Charleston in 1822, there would never have existed any 
difficulty. As we said before, our plan seems to carry 
our security in it. 

To shew the influence of true religion upon the Ne- 
groes, the case of somewhat an extensive insurrection 
in one of the West India Islands may be cited, wherein 
all the Negroes attached to the Moravian Missionary 
Churches, to a man, supported the authority of their 
Masters against the insurgents. Now, these Moravian 
Missionaries, as we understand, will have nothing 
whatever to do with the civil condition of the Slaves, 
but confine themselves entirely to the work of preach- 
ing the Gospel of Christ Jesus and him crucified. In 

* Sea note D. 



28 

the Danish West Indies, their congregations number 
10,000 Negroes who profess faith in Christ; and in the 
British West Indies 15,000. Again — have we not heard 
individual planters say, that some of their best Servants 
are those who profess religion and appear to have the 
root of the matter in them 1 Without doubt, cnme will 
be diminished. For Teachers, in order to induce a 
sense of guilt, must charge upon the Negroes those 
particular sins to which they are so much addicted, and 
expose their enormity and consequent punishment 
in the world to come. Many of them are guilty of no- 
torious sins and know not that they are sins at all. And 
they will be led to respect each other more ; to pay 
greater regard to mutual rights ; the strong will not so 
much oppress the weak; family relations will be less 
liable to rupture ; in short, all the social virtues will be 
more honored and respected. Short as has been the ex- 
istence of your Society, you can testify to the influence 
of your instructions in restraining crime on some plan- 
tations. The same may be said of the instructions on 
some plantations in Bryan county. Indeed the im- 
provement of the Negroes in morality seems to keep 
pace with the religious privileges tliey enjoy. 

The plan of instruction pursued by your Society will 
afford new faciUties, and better opportunities of bring- 
ing them under the influence of Temperance Societies. 
It is a matter of astonishment that Masters who are 
members of Temperance Societicties, or advocates of 
Temperance, take no steps to prevent the sale of ar- 
dent spirit to their slaves, especially too when they 
have it amply in their power. In this matter they seem 
to lose sight of their own interest^ to say nothing of 
their duty to their Negroes. 

And again, the religious instruction of the Negroes 
will deliver them from being made dupes and instru- 



29 

ments of sin, by those to whom God in his mercy has 
given greater light, and who ought to know, and do 
better. The guilt of those must be tremendous who 
take advantage of their standing, and knowledge, and 
power, to entice and compel to sin, their poor degraded 
fellow creatures, 

Happy then shall we be, if we can increase the spirit 
of obedience in our Servants, and cherish it by conside- 
rations drawn from eternity. Happy shall we be if we 
can raise the standard of their moral character, and 
place them in some good measure above the influence 
of evil seducers, and deliver their Masters from the 
pecuniary loss and the pain of severe discipline, conse- 
quent upon their negligence and crime.* 

3. Much impleasant discipline will be saved to the 
Churches. The offences of colored communicants 
against Christian character and church order, are very 
numerous and frequently very heinous ; the discipline 
i^ wearisome, difficult and unpleasant. Excommunica- 
tions are of continual occurrence, and are usually in a 
short time followed by applications for read mission. 
There never will be a better state of things until the 
Negroes are better instructed in religion. 

4. The Chiirch and Society at large will he benefitted. 
The way to strengthen and increase holiness in the 
soul, is to abound in works of holiness. It is by giving 
our talents to the exchangers that we gain other ta- 
lents. By taking in hand the religious instruction of 
the Negroes, a sufficient field is thrown open for the 
most vigorous exercise of the piety and zeal, and 
talents of the church. And allowing that her labor 
proves of no avail to the Negroes, yet for the sake of 
the benefit to herself, she should persevere in them. 

* See note E. 



•f 



30 

Society at large will also be benefitted. Benefitted 
in a pecuniary point of view. For a faithful Servant 
is more profitable than an unfaithful one. He will do 
more and better work, be less troublesome, and less 
liable to disease. 

And benefitted in a moral point of view. We are so 
accustomed to sin, in tlie Negroes, which in them 
appears as a matter of course, that our sensibilities be- 
come blunted ; we cease to abhor it, and then fall into 
sin ourselves. We also associate every thing that is 
mean and degrading with the Negroes, and almost 
necessarily so, from their mean and degraded charac- 
ters. The consequence is, they do not seem worthy 
of our regard, they lose all our respect, and it is no 
marvel if our conduct towards them is dictated by our 
opinion of them. Planters will generally confess that 
the management of them is not only attended with 
trouble and vexation, but with provocations to sin. And 
the demoralizing influence w-hich they exert over 
children and youth, when they are permitted to asso- 
ciate much watli them, is well known to us all. In fine, 
the influence of the Negroes on the morals of our white 
population, is exceedingly pernicious. It is like a mill- 
stone hanged about the neck of society. But when we 
shall see them assuming a higher standard of morals, 
the current of their opinion turning against vice, their 
appearance and deportment becoming more respectful, 
then shall we be favorably affected ourselves. Both 
classes of society will rise together, and in this way 
only can they ever rise^ so great is the influence of the 
one over the other. 

5. The Souls of our Servants will he saved. The 
great object for which we would communicate religious 
instruction to them is that their souls may be saved. 
To this all other objects should be subordinate. We 



believe that God will bless our instructions according 
to our desire. Strengthened by our faith, let us be wil- 
ling to sow in tears, for we shall reap in joy. Let us be 
willing to go forth weeping and bearing precious seed, 
for we shall come again with rejoicing, bringing sheaves 
with us. If the rest of Heaven is sweet to any human 
being, it is sweet to the poor African. If the cheering 
hopes of a blessed immortality are necessary to any 
human being, to animate and sustain him in his pil- 
grimage below, they are necessary to the poor African. 
The glory of God may be advanced as much in the 
salvation of his soul, as in the salvation of the soul of 
any other man whatever. 
>/ / 6. We shall relieve ourselves of great responsibility. 
God, in his mysterious providence has cast this people 
down under our feet. We rule over them. Why he 
has subjected them to this bondage, we know not. But 
one thing we do know : — They are his accountable 
creatures, and the manner of our treatment of them as 
such, cannot be a matter of indifference to us, if we 
have any regard whatever to his approbation or disap- 
probation. In the exercise of that supreme power over 
them, v^ested in us by the laws of our country, we can 
forbid any man's coming on our plantations for the 
purpose of religiously instructing them; we can forbid 
all meetings for religious purposes on our plantations ; 
we can refuse to instruct them ourselves; we can for- 
bid them the privileges of God's sanctuary on the Sab- 
bath ; we can literally bar the door of entrance into 
Heaven against them ; nor is there any power in our 
government that can compel us to swerve a hair from 
such treatment of them. The moral destinies of these 
people are submitted to our disposal, and our responsi- 
bilities we may neglect, we may despise. But we 
cannot be delivered from them. They press upon us 



32 

with the weight of a mountain, and we can meet them 
only by giving them the Gospel according to the mea- 
sure of Christ, " Frecli/ ye have received .freely g-ive." 

Some have thought that God has permitted the Afri- 
cans to be brought to this country, that His truth 
might be made known to them. If He has, then may 
we exclaim : " How unsearchable are His judgments, 
and His ways past finding out !" He has not only 
caused the wrath, but the cupidity of man to praise 
Him. It is certain that the salvation of one soul will 
more than outweigh all the pain and woe of their cap- 
ture and transportation, and subsequent residence 
amongst us. How slow have we been to second the 
designs of God! How astonishing is it that we have 
remained so long ignorant of our duty ! May we not 
hope that at these times of ignorance God has winked; 
but now commands all men every where to repent 1 
May we not hope that our repentance in this region 
has already begun? You, men and brethren, have 
reason to bless God that he has put it into your hearts 
to form the first Society for tlie Religious Instruction of 
the Negroes, ever formed, so far as we know, in the 
Southern States. From the altar which you have 
raised, fire may be borne to light up altars throughout 
our country, on which all the sons of Africa may offer 
sacrifices to God. A jmblic senti/neiit on this subject 
has now begun its existence. It must live. It must 
be cherished. It must become as universal as that on 
Temperance, or on any other work of philanthropy and 
Christian benevolence. We hope that the attention of 
our countrymen will be turned to the moral and reli- 
gious condition of the Negroes ; and that after a lapse 
of time, it will be unusual to find a plantation deprived 
of the means of grace. 

The work itself is great — It is difficult. There is 



touch in it to dampen ardour and induce discourage-' 
ment. To preach the Gospel to any people however 
Improved and however favorably situated, is discoura- 
ging; but to preach it to the most ignorant and de- 
graded, laboring under every disadvantage, is discoura- 
ging in the extreme. 

But it is the work of God. He can cause mountains 
to become plains, and rough places to become smooth. 
In Him must be our trust. In Him there is a sufficiency 
of power, and wisdom, and grace. And there is a glory 
in the work which the Apostle to the Gentiles, were 
he alive, would covet. In imitation of his Master, he 
was forward to remember the poor. He strove to 
preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, 
lest he should build upon another man's foundation. 
We tread an untrodden field of enterprise, and the sub- 
jects of our regard are the poorest of the poor. 

Finally, Men and Brethren — The cry of our perishing* 
servants comes up to us from the sultry plains, as they 
bend at their toil. It comes up to us from their humble 
cottages, when they return at evening to rest their 
weary limbs. It comes up to us from the midst of 
their ignorance, and superstition and adultery, and 
lewdness. Shall we disregard it? The cry is passing 
up to God and He will hear it. In a little while our 
opportunity of doing good to our servants will be gone 
forever. In a little while we shall have done with the 
artificial distinctions of this world. We shall sleep in 
the ground, side by side, with them, and return to dust 
as soon as they. In a little while we shall meet them 
before Christ the Judge, the Great Master of all, with 
whom there is no respecter of persons. He will say 
to us — " These were your servants on earth. They 
labored for you ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years. They 
wore out their lives to supply you with the food, and 



34 

raiment, and conveniences, and luxuries, of your mortal 
life. You had them wholly at your disposal. You had 
my Gospel in your hands. I made you the almoners 
of my grace to them. Did you remember their never- 
dying souls 1 — While they communicated to you of 
temporal things, did you communicate to them of spiri- 
tual things 1 Did you urge and entreat them to come 
to me, who alone could give the weary and heavy laden 
rest 1 Did you allow them time to seek my face 1 Or 
did you neglect their eternal interests 1 Did you treat 
them like the beasts that perish 1 Were they merely 
the instruments of your profit or of your pleasure 1 Did 
you forget that they were your fellow creatures 1 Did 
you forget the price that I paid for their redemption? 
Did you leave them to perish eternally "?" 

Every owner of slaves has an account to render to 
/ God for his treatment of them. O, how fearful will be 
his account, who, knowingly and wilfully, will permit 
them to go down from his fields, and from his very 
dwelling into the bottomless pit, without making a soli- 
tary effort to save them T " He that ears to hear, let 
him hear !" 



'^ 



NOTES. 



Note A. 

The language of Charles Cotesworlh Pinckney, in his Address 
before the Agricultural Society of South Carolina, August 18th 1829, 
on the moral condition of the Negroes, is as follows: — "There needs 
no stronger illustration of the doctrine of human depravity, than the 
state of morals on plantations in general. Besides the mischievous 
tendency of bad example, in parents and elders, the little Negro is often 
taught by his natural instructors, that he may commit any vice he 
can conceal from his superiors; and thus falet^hood and deception are, 
amongst the earliest they imbibe. Their advance in years is but a 
progression to the higher grades of iniquity. The violation of the 
seventh Commandment is viewed in a more venial hght than in 
fashionable European circles. Their depredations of rice have been 
estimated to amount to twenty-five per cent, on the gross average of 
crops; and this calculation was made after fifty years experience, by 
one whose liberal provision for their wants left no excuse for their 
ingratitude. — Address ^ pp. 10, 11. 



Note B. 



The practice of some churches is to divide the service on the 
Sabbath between the whites and the blacks. This is an excellent 
and benevolent arrangement, and it were to be wished that it was 
more extensively entered into. The servants form as truly a part of 
the Minister's congregation, as the masters themselves; nor can we 
«ee how he can officially, not to say conscientiously, omit their regular 
instruction. 



Note C. 

"We look upon the habit of black preaching as a wide spreading 
evil, not because a black man cannot be a good one, but because in 
the first place, they are not sufficiently instructed for the sacerdotal 
office; secondly, not being regularly appointed by any ecclesiastical 
authority, there is no security for their qualifications, or principles of 
any kind; thirdly, beaiise they acquire an influence independent of 
the owner and not subject to his control; and fourthly, when they 
have possessed this power, they have been known to make an im- 
proper use of it. Great efforts have been made to abolish this prac- 
tice, but they have been attended wilh the usual efftcts of religious 
persecution, secrecy and nocturnal meetings in old fields and planta- 
tions where no white persons reside. VVe cannot but think ii advisa- 
ble to afford them an opportunity of contrasting the tense and doc- 
trine they hear in such places from men whom ihey know to be only 
their equals, with the religious information to be derived from white 
teachers, whose superiority in knowledge of every kind they can- 
not question." — Finckney's Address, JVote E. 



Note D. 



*' On investigation, it appears that all concerned in that transaction, 
except one, had seceded from the regular Methodist Church in 1817, 
and formed a separate establishment in connexion with the African 
Methodist Society ih Philadelphia, whose Bishop, a colored man 
named Allen, had assumed that office, being himself a seceder from 
the Methodist Church of Philadelphia. Penn. At this period, Mr. S. 
Bryan, the local Minister of the regular Methodist Church in 
Charleston, was so apprehensive of sinister designs, that he addressed 
a letter to the City Council, on file in the Council Chamber, dated 
6lh Nov. 1817, stating at length the reasons of his suspicion.".— 
finckney's Address, JVb. B. p. 20. 



57 



Note E. 

" Were true religion propagated amongst this numerous and im- 
portant class, a sense of duty would counteract tlieir reluctance to 
labor, and diminishing the cases of feigned sickness, so harressing to 
ihe planter, wouIJ augment their numerical force and consequent 
production. The social relations of life being better observed, a 
greater proportion of domestic happiness would prevail, and render 
tUon more contented with their situation, and more anxious to pro- 
mote their owner's welfare. The absence or diminution of theft, false- 
hood, and many other vices, would render the home of the agricultu 
alist far more agreeable than it can be, vvhere guilt, which escapes 
human detection, knows not and fears not another tribunal. The ne- 
cessity of punishment would decrease ; for the want of Christianity pre- 
vents their owners from practising its dictates in the forgiveness of in- 
juries; so little good results from pardoning those who are incapable of 
appreciating the motst that it is frequently considered sufficient causa 
for repeating the offence. That moral improvement would follow 
the introduction of religion among the blacks, may be argued from 
its influence upon the white population of our own State. It baa 
been remarked by our oldest judges, that the progress of vice and 
2rime throughout the upper country, many years since, was more 
sensibly arrested after the Missionaries commenced their labors, than 
by the previous establishment of Courts of Justice. Public Schools 
were not organized until a much later period, 

'•There are some who object to the religious instruction of their 
people, on the ground that it has been the cloak assumed to cover the 
nefarious design of insurrection. To this we reply in the first place, 
that it was the only cloak it could assume. Secondly, that such in- 
struction was the best antidote to this very disease. And thirdly, 
that no argiimtMits are entitled to so little weight as those which con- 
demn the use of any practice because it has been abused. The most 
valuable medicines become active poisons, when improperly adminis- 
tered; and shall we forbid this medicine for the soul because a few 
discontented wretches have perverted its sacred use.'"' — Pinckney't 
Address, pp. 12. 13. 

The following information, received [from a valued friend 'in 
Charleston, of 27th April, respecting the manner of conducting the 
Methodist missions to the Negroes in South Carolina, and their suc- 
«c»B, will be found of interest. What a change for the better would 



38 

be effected in our colored population if similar missions were estab- 
lished throughout our country ? The usual manner of conducting the 
missions, is, for the Missionary to preach at the different plantations 
within the bounds of his mission, on the Sabbath, and at night. During 
the day, while the adults are at worki the children are catechised and 
instructed in the first principles of Christianity. When satisfactory 
evidence is given that any have become truly penitent, they are re- 
ceived as probationers in the Church, and divided into classes; each 
class is placed under the charge of a leader, in whom the missionary 
has confidence, and after a trial of six months, if a favorable report is 
given b)' the leader and the sanction of ihe owners obtained, they 
are admitted into the fellowship of the church. 

There are three Missionaries appointed by the South Carolina 
Conferrence, to labor on the plantations on Pon Pon, Combahee, 
Santee, and Savannah Rivers. The success has equalled the most 
sanguine expectations. Gentlemen owning plaotaiions have wil- 
lingly received the Missionaries and given them free access to their 
slaves; and in several instances application has been made by those 
who had not been visited, that their slaves might have the Gospel 
preached to them; stating as a reason for their request that they had 
witnessed the beneficial effects resulting to the slaves of their neigh- 
bors. The number received into the church according to the minutes 
of the conference are as follows: — Mission on Combahee, Pon Pon, 
&c. 440; do. Santee, 391 ; do. Savannah River, 246 — making a total 
of 1077. From the Reports of Sunday Schools in the interior, I 
learn that in many instances, Blacks are taught in their schools." 



54 * 



























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